What Turtles Eat

Whatever specie of turtle you own will for sure fall under any of the three major heads which are Herbivorous, Carnivorous or Omnivorous. Try finding out under which head does your pet turtle falls and accordingly select its diet. So basically the diet of any turtle is basically dependent upon the original habitat of the turtle and the specie it belongs to. To bliss your turtle with a long and happy life all one needs to do is create a natural looking habitat for the turtle and also provide it with a diet which it used to fetch in its original habitat. But there are some basic concepts upon which the diet of any turtle should be based. These basic concepts are there to provide an idea of a healthy diet. Have a glance at major food heads a turtle should be provided with.

Calcium shall be a major constituent of turtle diet: The ideal diet of a turtle shall be specifically rich in calcium, vitamin D3 and phosphorus. Basically your focus should be majorly on the calcium intake of the calcium. According to the preference of the specie you own, include calcium sources like hardboiled and crushed eggshells, crushed oyster shells, cuttlebone and plaster blocks. To ensure that your pet absorbs the calcium you provide to it, keep a check that the foods you provide to it do not contain high amount of oxalic acids.

Go slow with your turtle on protein rich diets : The kidneys of your turtle can be stressed when it is overloaded with high protein diets. Excess of protein diets can lead to shell pyramiding in turtles. It should never be provided to the turtles as staples. Be cautious that the veggie foods you’re providing to your turtle have enough amount of protein to fulfill the requirements of the turtle.

Healthy omnivorous diet for the turtles: A healthy omnivorous diet will provide your turtle with vital nutrients and vitamins which are perfect to keep it healthy. According to the requirement of the specie you own that is carnivorous, herbivorous or omnivorous you can adjust the quantities of foods mentioned in the list.

Leafy green veggies: If it is a herbivorous turtle then here is a list of nutritive veggies from which am sure some will be your turtles favorite. In a veggie based meal, one can easily include stuffs like sow thistle, lettuce, butter lettuce, turnip greens, tufted vetch, red clover, grape leaves, carrot tops, collards, duckweeds, endive, etc

Other veggies: Other than the leafy greens, one can also include vegetables like beans, sweet potato, corn, carrots, okra, squashes, beets and pea in a rich turtle meal.

Fruity treats: Some fruits which can make a healthy part of your turtle diet include cantaloupe, figs, blueberries, mango, pumpkin, apple kiwi, tomato, strawberry, grapes and banana.

Flowery meals: It will also be a great idea to sometimes feed your pet turtle with flowery meals which include floral beauties like pansies, nasturtium, carnations, geraniums, borage, rose, petunia, dandelions, lilies, chives, hibiscus and hyssop.

Protein meals for carnivorous turtles: An ideal meal for carnivorous turtles packed with proteins includes crickets, cooked fish, shrimps, cooked turkey, chicken and eggs, waxworms, slugs, silkworms, mealworms, earthworms, etc. Occasionally you can also allow your turtles to feast on dog food, cat food and lean beefs. But mind it, the meats provided to the turtle should always be lean meats. So, the above mentioned foods will give you an outline of what should be ideally fed to each type of turtle. In addition to it, don’t ever forget that you should never ever feed your pet with even small amounts of milk products, canned/processed foods and plants such as avocado, poison ivy and rhubarb plants. Keeping these points in mind will help you keep a healthy turtle.